The story of Radium Girls is one that, unfortunately, will probably always be relevant. Maybe this is just my cynical side talking, but the opinion of this director is that many companies today are run with greed and entitlement rather than humanitarianism and honesty. As long as this is the case, this play will remain relevant.
Looking back on historical events between 1918 to 1928, this play is a history lesson as well as a social science lesson on how and why workers can get sick, injured, and sometimes die from their jobs. While America has certainly moved in a positive direction concerning safety in many forms of employment, adding worker's compensation and insurance coverage, there are still many companies around the country that engage in actions that push employees to work more hours than expected or work in dangerous conditions. These actions can cause anxiety and stress at the minimum, or disfigurement or even death. Working conditions are a debate that remains in our country and, while most of the population agrees that conditions should be safe and not overburdensome, the problems don't seem to go away.
In directing this production, we have focused on the relationships. Sometimes relationships are strained, sometimes they are unhealthy, and sometimes they are positive, becoming vital to our well-being and motivation. It is lovely to see how all of the relationships in this play stretch and pull while we see what each individual person is fighting for.
Following Grace Fryer's deterioration of life, we see what really matters to her and that leads us, as an audience, to question what is really important in our lives. I hope you have some positive, wonderful relationships in your life and maybe you brought that person to see our show. Take care of each other and enjoy the show.
